ALABAMA

1. On the surface, it’s absurd to nitpick the College Football Playoff bracket, especially since Alabama head coach Nick Saban (four national titles since 2003) has a deep connection with Michigan State (10 years devoted to the program during the 1980s and 90s) and current head coach Mark Dantonio (Saban’s hand-picked defensive coordinator with the Spartans).

However, since there’s no guarantee of a dream national-title matchup, our semifinal wish includes an Alabama-Oklahoma clash on New Year’s Eve — pitting arguably the nation’s hottest teams since mid-October and perhaps the most storied coaches among the final foursome (Saban and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops).

Plus, Saban would be seeking dual revenge — atoning for last year’s Playoff flameout (versus Ohio State in the semifinals) … and the Sugar Bowl setback against Oklahoma two years ago.

2. Here’s another benefit of semifinal pairings featuring Oklahoma-Alabama and Clemson-Michigan State: Both games would have been fascinating studies in contrasting offensive philosophies — with the Sooners and Tigers favoring the spread attack, and the Crimson Tide and Spartans emphasizing power rushing as a means of controlling clock and tempo.

3. On the flip side, higher-seeded Alabama (ranked second nationally in total defense) would have been penalized for playing Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl — within the heart of Big 12 country (AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas).

The whole perk of being a 1- or 2-seed lies in venue proximity, perhaps more than matchup; and Alabama shouldn’t be obliged to play a de facto road game in the semifinals — as the higher seed. In that sense, everything worked out.

Plus, at a conservative estimate, Ole Miss could have an 80-20 edge of partisan fan support at the Mercedez-Benz Superdome — a first-time venue for Oklahoma State football.

2. Forget about the desultory home loss to Texas (Dec. 5) and horrible-weather defeat to TCU from the previous weekend. The Eye Test tells us that Baylor, when fully healthy, stands as the Big 12’s second-best team.

As such, the Bears would have been the ideal replacement for Oklahoma (part of the College Football Playoff) in the Sugar Bowl.

But alas, having the nation’s most prolific offense (605 yards per game) means very little … if you can’t close against the likes of Texas and TCU.

LSU

1. LSU-Texas Tech certainly ranks high on the ‘Curiosity’ scale, given the contrasting philosophies of the respective coaches (power football vs. air-it-out football), the extra motivation that comes with border-state wars and the rareness of the matchup (LSU last faced Texas Tech in 1957).

But it’s still a mismatch in the Tigers’ favor: The porous Red Raiders rank 124th nationally in scoring defense (42.6 points per game), 124th in third-down defense, 125th in rushing defense (272 yards allowed per outing) and 126th in total defense (540.2 yards).

2. For our ideal hypothetical, Oregon (winners of six straight, including victories over Stanford and Southern California) represents a major upgrade from Texas Tech … even though LSU still has a good shot at scoring 26-plus points against the Ducks.

After all, if woeful Oregon State (winless in Pac-12 action) can rack up five rushing touchdowns against Oregon … then LSU tailback Leonard Fournette (1,741 rushing yards, 18 TDs) should be a robust candidate for 170 yards and multiple scores.

3. LSU and Oregon both harbored serious hopes for a national championship back in August — and at the very least, a berth in the four-team Playoff. This dream clash would essentially set the ‘hype train’ in motion for next season, as well, with both programs likely starting 2016 ranked in the top 10.

TEXAS A&M

1. Nothing against Louisville here, but if Texas A&M must endure an eminently forgettable bowl in unfamiliar territory — miraculous finish aside — why not draw Virginia Tech … and the final game in Frank Beamer’s illustrious coaching career?

(Hokies athletic officials were likely pushing for Tulsa on Beamer’s collegiate swan song, as a means of solidifying that frozen-in-time image of the legendary coach being carried off the field, reveling in victory. And that’s exactly what happened — barely … with Virginia Tech eking out a 55-52 win on Saturday.)

2. Texas A&M fans must primarily travel 775 miles to see the Aggies take on Louisville — a great distance for a pedestrian clash against a non-traditional foe.

Ideally, a shorter voyage to Shreveport, La. would have made more sense for A&M; but unfortunately, the SEC suspended the annual ties to the Independence Bowl — where snowstorms are sometimes on the table — with its latest bowl shuffle.

2. Of course, North Carolina — the highest-ranked team not part of the ‘New Year’s Six’ bowl series — might have been less enthused to play a second-division SEC team in a bowl game, on the heels of a gut-wrenching loss to No. 1 Clemson in the ACC championship.

But hey, this countdown selfishly accounts for the wishes of SEC programs; and a top-10 victory over North Carolina would have been the perfect career capper for Prescott … easily the greatest quarterback in Mississippi State history.

Tennessee tailback Jalen Hurd (Photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

TENNESSEE

1. The above wish isn’t a knock on Northwestern, which stealthily ranks seventh nationally in total defense, 11th in scoring defense and 12th in red-zone defense. It’s more of a yearning for Tennessee to draw a renowned, measuring-stick opponent during bowl action.

There’s also this: Some Vegas insiders have the Volunteers installed as 8 1/2-point favorites. This creates the perception that Tennessee fans might only be happy with an Outback blowout of Northwestern, which has a woeful 1-7 bowl record since 2000.

Yes, the Volunteers produced a thrilling comeback win over UGA in October; but the devastating losses to Oklahoma, Florida, Arkansas and Alabama supersede that one week of euphoria.

But with close losses one year and big recruiting victories for three straight classes … comes amped-up expectations for the following season; and the dream pairing of Tennessee and Southern California (Pac-12 South champs) could have been a springboard showdown for 2016.

3. Vols tailback Jalen Hurd (1,348 total yards, 15 TDs) might have his hands full against Northwestern; but there would have been greater national intrigue against Southern California’s rush defense, which features a number of NFL-caliber athletes.

4. There’s also the rarity angle here: The Trojans and Volunteers haven’t faced one another since 1981.

AUBURN

1. In some respects, Auburn already has the perfect situation for bowl week: Playing in nearby Birmingham and facing a blue-chip quarterback (Memphis senior Paxton Lynch — 3,670 yards passing, 28 TDs), who could be a top-five pick in the upcoming NFL draft.

That said, it would have been extremely cool for Auburn to garner a one-time-only invite to Yankee Stadium, SEC-bowl affiliations be damned.

d) On the same field, Auburn and Indiana would have been good candidates for 30-plus points — always a crowd-pleasing component with non-premium bowls.

FLORIDA

OPPONENT: vs. Michigan (Citrus Bowl)DREAM OPPONENT: vs. Michigan

REASONS FOR DREAMING

1. Sure, Florida has an anemic offense, and both the Gators and Wolverines were thumped in their season finales (against Alabama and Ohio State, respectively). However, this matchup fulfills the ‘dream’ requirement, from a brand-name perspective.

Traditional powers? (Check)

Big-revenue programs? (Check)

A guaranteed sellout in Orlando? (Check)

A major factor in gauging the strength/depth of the Big Ten and SEC? (Check)

2. Even sexy matchups need a good subplot to reel in the casual fan. Something like …

The ‘D.J. Durkin, We Hardly Knew Ye’ Bowl.

Durkin, once a prominent assistant to Urban Meyer and Will Muschamp, served as Florida’s interim head coach in the 2014 season, guiding the Gators to a Birmingham Bowl victory over East Carolina.

After that, the excitable Durkin (recently named the head coach at Maryland) spent the 2015 campaign at Michigan, serving as Jim Harbaugh’s one-and-done defensive coordinator.

As such, from a prop-bet perspective, the number of on-air Durkin mentions/references during the Michigan-Florida telecast has an over/under figure of 4.5.

ARKANSAS

1. During the regular season, Arkansas collected per-game averages of 35.2 points and 193 rushing yards; and of its last eight games, Kansas State (six-game losing streak during Big 12 play) surrendered a staggering average of 204 rushing yards to the opposition.

In other words, it’ll be a surprise if Kansas State stays within single digits of an Arkansas team that’s primed for a season-ending power play.

2. By extension, it would have made greater sense for Arkansas to draw Oklahoma State in the Texas Bowl. And that could have been the case … if Baylor hadn’t incurred a shocking home defeat to Texas on Dec. 5, thus bumping the Bears from Sugar Bowl contention.

With the conference title on the line a few weeks ago, Oklahoma State lost it final two games at home — by a composite score of 103-58; and for the season, the pedestrian Cowboys rank just 95th in total defense (yielding 430 yards per game), 86th in scoring defense (29 points per game) and 91st in pass defense (244 yards per game).

UGA

1. Four months ago, expectations were sky-high for UGA to capture the SEC East title and compete with either Alabama, Auburn, LSU or Ole Miss for the conference championship. And three time zones away, Arizona State garnered major props from national pundits (most notably ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit) as a sleeper pick for the Playoff semifinals.